Refrigerating machine



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' is Acto-w-neg Nov. 3, 1936. L. w. ATCHISON I REFRIGERATING MACHINE Filed Aug. 21, 1934 2 Sheets-$11661. 2

.Wlllllm- Inventor: Leonard W At hisom M5 fimfmwmm go v Patented Nov. 3,1936

REFRIGERATING moms Leonard W. Atchison, Schenectady,- N. Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application August 21, 1934, Serial No. 740,787

9 Claims.

My invention relates to refrigerating machines.

An object of my invention is to provide a refrigerating machine having an evaporator which shall require minimum space within the compartment to be cooled and which shall be simple and of rugged construction.

Another object of my invention is to provide an evaporator for refrigerating machines which shall form a part of the lining of the compartment to be cooled. 4

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which'characterize my invention will be pointed it out with particularity in 'the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a refrigerating machine having an evaporator embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the evaporator shown inFig. l, with the freezing shelf detached therefrom and Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on 25 the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 of the evaporator with the freezing shelf attached thereto.

Referring now to the drawings, in Fig. i I have shown a household refrigerator cabinet it having an outer wall it and divided by a wall i2 30 near the middle of the cabinet into two 'compartments. The upper compartment is provided with an inner liner l3 forming a cooling chamber it, and heat insulation 85 is arranged between the inner liner l3 and the walls ll and 35 I2. The walls H, l2 and it are preferably made of sheet metal. The cooling chamber is provided with a heat insulated door it at the top thereof. In order to cool the chamber M I provide an evaporator li secured to the outside 40 of-the liner l3 and between the liner i3 and the outer wall H, and provide a shelf it within the compartment. The shelf l8 supports freezing trays or the like and is constructed of a mate-.

rial of high thermal conductivity, such as alumi- I 45 num. In order to supply refrigerant to the evaporator I'I, a closed casing it having a motor and a compressor arranged therein is mounted in the lower compartment. Refrigerant is compressed by the compressor within the casing I9 0 and discharged from the compressor into a conduit 20, through which it flows to a condenser comprising conduits 2| and 22 secured in heat exchange relation to the inner surface of the outer wall ll of the cabinet and connected by 55 a conduitv 23. This construction,- wherein the condenser conduit is secured in heat exchange relation to the outer wall of a refrigerator cabinet, is described and claimed in a copending application of Christian Steenstrup, Serial No. 554,- 623, filed August 3, 1931, and assigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of my present invention. I do not, therefore, claim herein anything described or claimed in the said Steenstrup application, which is to be regarded as prior art with respect to this present application, my in- 10 ventlon relating to anevaporator construction, and its arrangement in a cabinet structure. The refrigerant is condensed and liquefied within the condenser conduits 2| and 22 and flows through a connection 24 to a receiver or float valve chamher 25. Refrigerant is discharged from the float chamber under the control of a float therein and flows through a connection 26 to the evaporator H where it is vaporized upon the absorption of heat from the chamber l4 and is withdrawn through a suction conduit 21 and returns to the casing it, the interior of which is on the low pressure side of the compressor therein.

Referring now to Fig. 2 the evaporator I1 comprises a sheet of metal 28 welded or otherwise 25 suitably secured face to face with the inner metal liner l3 of the refrigerator cabinet. The sheet 28 is provided with indentations forming an upper header 29 and a lower manifold 3% connected by a plurality of upright refrigerant circulating pas- 30 sages 3!]. The sheet 28 is welded, or otherwise secured in some suitable manner, to the liner it around the edges of the sheet and along the surface between the indentations extending the entire length of indentations 30, where the sheet and the liner are in face engagement. The liner of the compartment to be cooled thus forms one wall of the evaporator, and the evaporator takes up no space within the compartment. In order that water, desserts or the like may be frozen, i to provide the shelf l8, which is constructed of aluminum or some other suitable material of high thermal conductivity, secured in good heat exchange relation to the evaporator adjacent the header 'by bolts 32 as shown in Fig. 3 which pass through holes 33 and 33a in the evaporator and shelf is respectively. Liquid refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator I'I through supply conduit 26, a short tube 34 which is connected to one end of the manifold 30, and a conduit 35 extending within the manifold 30 and substantially the entire length'thereof. The conduit 35 is provided with orifices 36, one opposite every other one of the upright refrigg'ant passages 3|. The

levelpf liquid refrigerant in the header 29 is pref- 5i erably always maintained above the upper ends of the upright passages 3|. Liquid flowing into the evaporator through the orifices 36 will set up a circulation of refrigerant from the header 24 through the passages 3| and manifold 30, as indicated by the arrows shown in the cut-away portion in Fig. 2, the refrigerant being circulated upwardly through the passages 3| which are above the orifices 35 and downwardly through the other alternate passages. A rapid and efficient circulation of liquid refrigerant within the evaporator is thus produced. Since the shelf i8 is in good heat exchange relation with the evaporator I? water, desserts, or the like placed in freezing trays supported on the shelf may readily be frozen. The shelf i 8 is of simple construction, is easily cleaned and presents a minimum obstruction of space within the compartment to be cooled. The evaporator I! is embedded in the insulation i within the walls of the compartment l4 and any substantial absorption of heat from the air outside the compartment is thereby prevented.

It is apparent from the foregoing that I have provided a refrigerating machine having an evaporator of simple and rugged construction which requires a minimum amount of material, occupies substantially no space within the compartment to be cooled, and provides'adequate cooling and ice freezing capacity.

While I have described my invention in con nection with a household refrigerator, I do not desire my invention to be limited to the construction shown and described, and I intend in the accompanying claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent in the United States is:

l. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having thermally insulated walls providing a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, and means including an evaporator comprising a sheet of metal secured face to face with said liner for cooling said compartment, said sheet having indentations therein providing a header and refrigerant passages between said sheet and said liner.

2. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, means including an evaporator comprising a sheet of metal secured face to face with said liner for cooling said compartment, said sheet having indentations therein provid-'- ing a header and refrigerant passages between said sheet and said liner, and means injecting liquid refrigerant intosaid refrigerant passages for producing a circulation of refrigerant in said evaporator. I V

3. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, means including an evaporator comprising a sheet of metal secured face to face with said liner for cooling said compartment, said sheet having indentations therein providing a header and a manifold and a plurality of up,- right refrigerant passages connecting said header and said manifold, and means including a conduit entering said manifold and injecting liquid refrigerant into alternate ones of said upright passages in said evaporator for producing a circulation of refrigerant within said evaporator.

aosaeao 4. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having thermally insulated walls providing a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, and means including an evaporator arranged within said walls and comprising a sheet of metal secured face to face with said liner for cooling said compartment, said sheet having indentations providing a header and a manifold and a plurality of upright refrigerant passages connecting said header said manifold.

5. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, means including an evaporator comprising a sheet of metal secured face to face with said liner for cooling said compartment, said sheet having indentations providing a header and a manifold and a plurality of upright refrigerant passages connecting said header and said manifold, and means including a shelf constructed of a material of high thermal conductivity secured to saidliner within said compartment adjacent said header for supporting freezing trays and the like within said compartment.

6. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, heat insulating material surrounding said compartment, and means including an evaporator comprising a single sheet of metal providing a header and arranged in heat exchange relation with said liner for cooling said compartment, said header being embedded in said heat insulating material.

7. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, heat insulating material surrounding said compartment, means including an evaporator having a header and arranged in heat exchange relation with said liner for cooling' said compartment, said header being embedded in said heat insulating material, and means including a shelf constructed of a material of high thermal conductivity secured to said liner within said compartment adjacent said header for supporting freezing trays and the like within said compartment.

8. A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having a compartment to be cooled, a liner for said compartment, means including an evaporator comprising a sheet of metal secured face to face with said liner for cooling said compartment, said sheet and said liner having a refrigerant passage formed therebetween, and means including a shelf constructed of a material of high thermal conductivity secured to said liner within said compartment adjacent said evaporator for supporting freezing trays and the like within said compartment.

9. .A refrigerating machine including a cabinet having thermally insulated walls providing a,

erant conduits arranged between said sheet and said liner.

LEONARD W. ATCHISON.

- D I SOLAI M E R 2,059,840.-Leonard W. Atchison, SchenectadghN. Y. Rnmmmm'rme MACHINE. Patent dated' November 3,1936.. claix'ner filed July 7, 1939, by the assignee, General Electric Company. Hereb enters this disclaimer to claims 1 and 9 of said patent.

[ ficz'al Gazette August 1, 1.939.] 

